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The X Factor UK (Series 10)
Series 10 of The X Factor began airing on August 31, 2013 and ended on December 15, 2013 on ITV. The series was won by 36-year old soul singer Sam Bailey who was mentored in the Over 25s category by Sharon Osbourne, giving her her first-ever win as a mentor on the show. Fellow finalists Nicholas McDonald and Luke Friend also secured record deals with little success. It was watched by a total of 9.45 million viewers - almost 400,000 viewers less than the previous series. Production Dermot O'Leary returned to present the main show on ITV for the seventh year. Louis Walsh, Gary Barlow and Nicole Scherzinger returned as judges for their respective tenth, third and second series. Tulisa Contostavlos did not return and was replaced by Sharon Osbourne. Matt Richardson replaced Olly Murs as the co-host of The Xtra Factor alongside Caroline Flack. Judges Twists/Changes Two Auditions: This series saw the return of the original auditions format last used in Series 5, where auditionees performed in a room in front of the judges. Those who were successful in the room auditions then faced a second audition in an arena—the format used since Series 6—to prove they can impress an audience. If they were successful in this audition, they entered the bootcamp stage of the competition. Category Allocation: In a change to the usual format, the judges were allocated their categories before bootcamp, via a phonecall from executive producer Richard Holloway. On the first day of bootcamp, soloists were put into groups of three within their category, and groups were put into pairs. They had to perform within that pair or group, and the category judge would then decide who would continue. Six Chair Challenge: The judges chose the acts to advance to judges' houses immediately after their bootcamp performance, instead of waiting until everyone had performed. Each judge had six places to their judges house, and they granted a 'seat' to the performers they wanted to advance in their category. However, if a judge already chose six acts for their category, they could replace them if they preferred a later performer, therefore causing bootcamp to be branded the 'ultimate game of musical chairs'. Flash Vote: For the first three weeks, a new "flash vote" took place at the end of each Saturday night show, where the voting lines opened for about eight minutes, and the act with the fewest votes faced the "sing-off" (formerly called the "final showdown") on Sunday. Voting lines for the remaining contestants then reopened, and stayed open until the Sunday shows, where the second contestant to face the "sing-off" was revealed. In the event that judges' votes were tied, the contestant that lost the flash vote was eliminated. Finalists Selection process Auditions See: List of The X Factor auditionees (series 10) '' The room auditions in front of the judges began in Glasgow on 4 June at the Hilton Glasgow Grosvenor Hotel and continued in Birmingham on 10 June at the International Convention Centre. Manchester auditions took place over three days from 13 to 15 June at Old Trafford, followed by London auditions which also took place over three days, from 19 to 21 June at ExCeL London. Due to a lack of successful groups, extra auditions specifically for groups took place on 1 July at Price Studios in Battersea, London. Auditions then concluded in Cardiff on 3 July at the Motorpoint Arena. The arena auditions took place at a single venue, Wembley Arena, over four days, from 15 to 18 July. Numerous contestants from previous series returned to audition again for this series, including: Amy Mottram, who was Tulisa's wildcard contestant in series 9 and failed to be chosen ahead of Maloney as the 13th finalist. Terry Winstanley, who made it to judges' houses in series 8. Johnny Rocco, whose audition in series 4 ended with him "cursing" Walsh after getting a "no" from all four judges. John Adams, who reached bootcamp in series 8. Curtis Golden, Joseph Whelan and Gathan Cheema, all of whom got to bootcamp in series 9. Stephanie Woods, who got to judges' houses in series 4. Jade Richards, who got to judges' houses in series 8 and bootcamp in series 9 and Melanie McCabe, who got to bootcamp in series 5 and 9 and to judges' houses in series 8. Also auditioning again were groups Rough Copy, who were initially to through to judges' houses in series 9 but had to back out due to visa problems, and The Dolly Rockers, who made it to judges' houses in series 3. Bootcamp ''See: Bootcamp (series 10) Judges Houses See: Judges' Houses (series 10) Live Shows Results Summary * Note 1: Owing to the freezing of votes, the voting percentages in weeks 1, 2, 3 and 10 for Sundays do not add up to 100%. Shelley Smith received 0.9% of the final vote in week 1, Kingsland Road rececived 1.9% of the final vote in week 2, Miss Dynamix received 1.1% of the final vote in week 3 and Luke Friend received 10.3% of the final vote in week 10 * Note 2: Miss Dynamix were given a bye in Week 2 as band member SeSe Foster was too ill to perform. * Note 3: Walsh did not need to vote as Scherzinger and Osbourne had already voted to eliminate Miss Dynamix; having lost the flash vote, they would have been sent home regardless of Walsh's decision. Walsh said he would have voted to eliminate Miss Dynamix. * Note 4: Walsh did not need to vote as there was already a majority. He said he would have voted to eliminate Abi Alton. * Note 5: Osbourne did not need to vote as there was already a majority. She said she would have voted to eliminate Sam Callahan. Ratings Controversies Trailer The mash-up video trailer promoting the tenth series was published as a "mash up of all the best a decade of X Factor has to offer" on 25 July 2013. The trailer consists of various music videos from 13 past contestants: winners Shayne Ward, Leona Lewis, Alexandra Burke, Joe McElderry, Little Mix and James Arthur, and finalists One Direction, JLS, Olly Murs, Union J, Amelia Lily, Cher Lloyd and Misha B. However, fans questioned the absence of successful contestants Diana Vickers and Rebecca Ferguson, and winners Steve Brookstein, Leon Jackson and Matt Cardle were also not included. Cardle's manager Will Talbot said that he believed the show was "attempting to erase Matt from the history books. ... In truth, it pretty much sums up Syco's attitude to him during the months after he inconveniently (for them) won the show. Unfortunately there is a misconception that Matt has slagged off the show and fallen out with Sony but this is not true." Cardle later described being omitted from the advert as "disappointing", especially for fans who would have liked to have seen him in it. Melanie C, who has collaborated with Cardle, was more critical, saying: "I think it's really f**king rude the way they have left him out." Format changes The change to the format of the auditions was criticised by Alex Fletcher from entertainment news website Digital Spy, who said he could not see the logic in having auditions broadcast on both Saturdays and Sundays, as complaints from series 9 were not about needing extra auditions, but about "dour judges" and "underwhelming finalists". He praised the return of the audition room but felt that "the producers and Simon Cowell evidently weren't confident in the format change and have kept the arena auditions as an extra second round," stating that the Bootcamp stage of the competition could have been used to show "how the acts cope under pressure with a live audience," adding that "the Sunday show feels like a bit of a formality"and "generally the singers who stun us on Saturday will impress again on Sunday." He said that "the extra Sunday helping of The X Factor ''will still rate much higher than anything else that was going to air in that slot for ITV. So for the bean counters and ''X Factor PR machine it will probably be labelled a hit. In the long-term, however, I fear this 'Supersized X Factor' may lead some viewers to reach for their remotes suffering from reality TV fatigue." Additionally, Fletcher was critical of the format change to bootcamp, saying "The show can be cruel for those taking part, brutal for those who don't make the grade, and its fickleness is nothing compared to the harsh realities of the music industry. However, the argument that 'the music industry is meaner' fell apart this week. ... I refuse to believe that anyone in the music industry has even been given a contract, told they're brilliant and then forced to watch 15 other people sing and have that contract ripped up in front of their faces. And even if they have, I bet they didn't have an audience of 4,000 people chanting at them to be on their way. This was reality TV at its most cruel." He wondered if the change was a "desperate attempt to create interest in a series that has performed solidly in the ratings, but without creating any real talking points or memorable moments", and said that "watching Karen Harding, Lydia Lucy and Sheena McHugh get put into the Top 6 and then have the dream of a spot at Judges' Houses snatched away from them felt needlessly mean. Whether the trio deserved to make Judges' Houses or not felt irrelevant. The audience finger-pointing and the chanting of 'Swap! Swap! Swap!' made the whole process terribly ugly." He questioned the show's producers' "need to make it even more vicious", opined that the new twist "definitely undermines the credibility of the show's judges", and said, "The whole twist felt contrived and unpleasant, and I hope it won't be returning in 2014." Fans and viewers of the show also criticised the bootcamp format, with some viewers said to be fearing for the contestants' wellbeing, with one calling it "blood sport". Singer Lily Allen, who watched the show, said, "When did become alright to f*** with people's minds. X Factor has got fully mean." Contestant Lydia Lucy, who was initially chosen to be in Scherzinger's final six but was replaced by Abi Alton, said, "It still hasn't sunk in. I've been absolutely devastated. ... If Simon Cowell was in front of me now I'd tell him to change the format back to how it was. This way is like dangling a carrot in front of someone and then taking it away." The new "flash vote" twist during the live shows was met negatively by Lorna Simpson, who was the first contestant to be eliminated. Simpson said it was unfair that she had far less time to prepare than fellow sing-off contestant Shelley Smith, claiming "They set me up to go out in the first week". It was reported that Cowell was planning to axe the flash vote after The X Factor was heavily beaten by Strictly Come Dancing in the ratings for the second live show. The flash vote was not used in week 4 due to a performance at the start of the show by Nile Rodgers and Chic, and was not used again in week 5. A source from the show said, "at the moment it is not scheduled to return". The flash vote was not used again after week 3. Contestants Before judges' houses, urban act Code 4 had to drop one of their members, Mark Wyman, after it emerged that he had a criminal record, and a spokesman for The X Factor said, "Unfortunately due to problems in getting a visa Mark was unable to travel to Judges' Houses in America, meaning that he ended up having to leave the band to carry on in the competition as a three piece." Code 4 did not make it to the live shows. Three-piece band Rough Copy also had to lose member Kazeem "Kaz" Ajobe before the six-chair challenge due to visa problems. The same had happened to the group in series 9, but this year the other two members, Sterling Ramsay and Joey James, continued without Ajobe and advanced to judges' houses as a duo. Fans questioned the events, and the extent to which ITV wanted to resolve them, saying they had a year to get a visa, and Barlow could have stayed in the United Kingdom, the latter sentiment to which Barlow admitted to Ajobe he should've done during the judges' houses episodes. Barlow put Rough Copy through to the live shows and Ajobe was allowed to rejoin the band. Furthermore, just after Ajobe was reinstated, controversy was caused when his criminal past was publicised. Ajobe responded by stating: "I've done things I am not proud of. I haven't been an angel but I am a changed man now." There was criticism over SeSe Foster of Miss Dynamix being allowed to compete in the show, because she was five months pregnant when the live shows began. Some viewers also thought it was unfair that Miss Dynamix got an automatic bye to the next week when Foster collapsed before the second live show. Foster dismissed this, saying that she "deserves a shot at a better life" and insisted her collapse was not related to her pregnancy. The following week, Miss Dynamix were eliminated after losing the flash-vote and the sing-off to Hannah Barrett. Following this, Barlow stated that he felt that all public hopes of the group continuing in the competition had ended with their absence in week 2, despite him previously hoping that Foster's collapse would've gained more sympathy for them from the public. Judges' comments Some viewers were shocked by a comment made by Osbourne following 16-year-old Nicholas McDonald's performance of "She's the One" during the second live show. As McDonald got to the end of the song, a female backing dancer walked towards him and he kissed her cheek after the song finished. Despite the minimum age of sexual consent in the United Kingdom and the Crown Dependencies standing at 16, Osbourne then said to McDonald, who was 16 and therefore legal, "Who on earth was that piece of whatever next to you? That paedophile. You're only 16. You can't be doing that. That's a disgrace ITV." She was later spoken to by producers, but Walsh defended her, saying "She meant nothing wrong by it. We all say things we shouldn't and X Factor is not scripted." The dancer declined to comment, but a source close to her said that she was embarrassed by Osbourne's comment. Guest performances Ofcom received around 200 complaints about Lady Gaga's performance, including her costume and lyrics, during the third results show on 27 October 2013. ITV received 60 complaints directly. Lady Gaga wore nude-coloured underwear and her lyrics included "do what you want with my body".A spokeswoman for ITV said, "We do not believe Lady Gaga's performance was inappropriate for the family audience of The X Factor results show, which has an established tradition of featuring performances from the biggest music stars. Lady Gaga is well known for her highly individual performance style." Ofcom said, "We will assess all the complaints received on this issue before deciding whether to investigate." Robin Thicke's performance, which featured a large number of scantily-clad female dancers, also received a total of 317 complaints.On 16 December, both Gaga and Thicke were cleared of any wrongdoing, with an Ofcom spokesman stating, "We assessed the complaints and concluded there were no grounds to investigate." Final There were technical problems during Sam Bailey's duet performance with Scherzinger, when Jedward's voices could be heard as they completed a microphone test. The duet was panned by viewers who accused Scherzinger of being "selfish" by singing the "best" lines and notes of the song. Trivia *This is Walsh's first time in 8 years to receive a category other than the Over 25s/Groups. *The finals attracted lower viewing figures than the previous year. *As with Series 1, Series 7 and the previous year the winning act and the runner-up performed different potential winner's singles. Category:Series Category:The X Factor (UK) Category:Series 10